Key messages from the OECD publication Measuring What Matters for Child Well-being and Policies, launched on 1st July 2021. More information at https://www.oecd.org/wise/measuring-what-matters-for-child-well-being-and-policies-e82fded1-en.htm

1. MOVING THE CHILD DATA
AGENDA FORWARD TO INFORM
BETTER WELL-BEING POLICIES
Measuring What Matters for Child Well-being and Policies

2. New Aspirational Framework for
Child Well-being Measurement
Measuring What Matters
for Child Well-being and
Policies presents an
“aspirational’’ framework for
child well-being
measurement, setting out
which aspects of children’s
lives should be measured,
and how, to monitor
progress in child well-being.

3. OECD Well-being Framework
OECD (2020), How's Life? 2020: Measuring Well-being, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/9870c393-en
Just like the OECD Well-
being Framework, the
“aspirational” framework
focuses on both present and
future well-being. It sets out
to measure average levels
of child well-being, and its
distribution, reflecting
deprivations and
inequalities across different
groups of children (e.g. by
sex, by living arrangement,
by migrant background).

4. The current child data landscape
Limited info on very young
children’s well-being, partly
because of measurement
challenges.
Lack of data on children & adolescents’
social capital, like perceptions and
confidence in their social and cultural
identities, and knowledge of global and
societal issues.
Lack of data on children’s own
views on several important areas
of their lives, such as their own
material and socio-emotional
well-being.
©Shutterstock – Nadia Snopek
©Shutterstock – Colorfuel Studio
©Shutterstock – Victor Brave

5. Family homelessness
Without stable accommodation, children face repeated moves, disruption to education, poor
diet, loss of contact with family and friends, and social exclusion.
Child maltreatment
Maltreatment is too often an “invisible” problem that affects children’s health, education
and socio-emotional development.
Disabilities
The scarcity of national surveys and the use of different definitions hampers cross-country
comparison and makes it difficult to determine if children are really getting the support
they need.
Some examples of poorly-recorded issues that affect child well-being:
Existing child data covers poorly children in the most marginalised positions,
leaving an incomplete view of their needs and limiting policy effectiveness
©Free Clip Art

6. MATERIAL AND
ECONOMIC
WELL-BEING
HEALTH AND
PHYSICAL
WELL-BEING
SOCIO-
EMOTIONAL
AND
CULTURAL
WELL-BEING
AND
EDUCATIONAL
WELL-BEING
The inter-connected nature of child well-
being isn’t well captured because of the
“siloed” approach to child data collection…
…which makes it difficult to track the many
linkages across areas of child well-being and
to examine how outcomes in one area
affect well-being in others.
COGNITIVE

7. The “aspirational” measurement framework was built around
six key principles
Child well-being is
multi-dimensional
Measurement must
capture children’s
“here and now” and
also be future-
oriented
What is fundamental
for child well-being
changes as children
grow
Integrating children’s
views and
perspectives is
paramount
Children’s well-being
is deeply embedded
in their
environments
Measurement must
capture how public
policies shape
children’s lives
#1 #2 #3
#6 #5 #4

8. The framework identifies data gaps and outlines priorities for collection to answer
four key questions about child well-being
Do children
have the
things they
need?
Are children
active and
physically
healthy?
Are children
learning and
achieving in
education?
Do children
feel safe,
included and
happy?

9. Do children
have the
things they
need?
High cost of living, especially high cost
of raising children, contributes to child
material deprivation
SOME KEY FINDINGS
The impact of living arrangement of
children in non-nuclear families is often
poorly assessed
Some children experience severe
material deprivation, especially those
living in areas with fewer facilities or with
comparatively low-quality services
Children often attach great value to the
things they own and desire. Their
perceptions vary with age and differ
from their parents’
Children’s material outcomes are
shaped by their larger environment
HOUSING
FOOD, CLOTHING
AND BASIC
NECESSITIES
LEARNING AND
LEISURE MATERIALS
FAMILY AND HOME
ENVIRONMENT
SCHOOL AND LARGER
COMMUNITY

10. Do children
have the
things they
need?
Collecting information on the economic and material situation of children
and their families is key to understanding whether children’s subsistence needs
are met, and to know if they have access to the things they need to flourish and
feel accepted within society.
Living conditions and the
material situation of
vulnerable children
Family financial
vulnerability and
resilience
To design targeted well-being policies, data collection should be:
It is particularly important to collect data on:
Child-centred, incorporating
children’s views and taking
the child as the unit of
measurement
Age-sensitive, reflecting
how children’s needs and
desires change as they
grow up

11. Are children
physically
healthy and
active?
There is limited data on:
Pre-natal determinants of good child health such as maternal health
behaviours, nutrition and prenatal health care.
Children’s exposure to environmental risks such as air pollution or unsafe
water sources, accounting for where children encounter these risks.
Maternal and child health care services coverage, as well as on the specific
reasons for children not accessing services or treatment.
Children’s knowledge on various health issues, including the main
challenges for current and future health and well-being.

12. Are children
physically
healthy and
active?
Develop data on the social gradients of health and tracking of
health inequalities starting in the First 1000 Days
Improve information on health checks and coverage as
well as health spending by age
Track children’s exposure to environmental
containments and risks
Develop cross-cutting data to
track how health affects other
well-being areas
Together – governments, international
organisations, and the wider
international statistical and policy
communities – need to work to…

13. Do children
feel safe
and secure,
respected,
included
and happy?
During the first few years of life, the bonding relationships
with parents and caregivers are critical. As children get
older, the quality of relationships with peers and other
adults gain importance.
Feeling emotionally secure underpins healthy child
development.
The home, school, community and neighbourhood
environments provide important resources to help foster
children’s social and emotional well-being.

14. Do children have
the things the
need?
Policy-makers should respond to how children's developmental stage
and larger environment shape their socio-emotional development.
They need data that:
Tracks digital
opportunities and risks,
including children’s online
activities and experiences
Captures how
neighbourhoods shape
adolescents’ lives and
opportunities
Grasps how children’s self
and social identity shape
their later life
Bridges the gaps on social
and emotional well-being
in early and middle
childhood
Shows access to mental
health services and how
children with mental
health difficulties get
along in various areas of
life
Reveals how quickly
progress is being made on
social inclusion of children
with disabilities
Do children
feel safe
and secure,
respected,
included
and happy?

15. Children’s educational aspirations are very much shaped by family background
and learning opportunities. Compared to their peers, much fewer 15-year olds
from disadvantaged backgrounds expect to complete tertiary education.
Source: PISA 2018 Results: Where all students can succeed Volume II, OECD (2019)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Korea
United
States
Costa
Rica
Chile
Japan
Portugal
Sweden
OECD
average
Norway
United
Kingdom
Denmark
Finland
Iceland
New
Zealand
Poland
Austria
Germany
All students Disadvantaged students Advantaged students
%
Child data on early childhood, educational achievement outside of traditional subject
domains, and influence of home environment is lacking.
Are children
learning and
achieving in
education?
Percentage of students who expect to complete tertiary education

16. • Strengthen efforts to track early cognitive development, including emerging
literacy and numeracy skills
• Improve the range and consistency of skills and competences covered by
international education and learning data
• Improve the tracking of vulnerable children’s learning outcomes, for
example children with special educational needs or who experience adversity
or educational disruptions
• Measure educational motivations from middle childhood to develop
adequate policy responses
Are children
learning and
achieving in
education?
Policy-makers should…

17. Capture what is going on in
children’s lives on multiple
well-being domains
Measure what is important
to children by integrating
their views
Detect emerging problems &
vulnerabilities early on by
capturing risk and protective
factors
As a rule of thumb, child well-being data should:
…and be collected at
different intervals and
points in time
©Shutterstock – Hut Hanna

18. Key actions for better child data
Report on a core set of data and indicators, defined by what OECD countries can commit to updating at
regular intervals
Increase the regularity and/or timeliness of data collection
Ensure consistency of questionnaire and variable definitions across waves
Increase the reach of data linking and techniques for combining data from multiple sources
Strengthen capacity of data infrastructure to collect data on the well-being of vulnerable children
Getting all
actors to
synchronise
their efforts
is key to
making
progress

19. Read the report online:
https://oe.cd/measuring-cwb
Visit the OECD Child Well-being
Data Portal:
https://www.oecd.org/els/family/chil
d-well-being/data
Learn about the OECD WISE Centre:
https://www.oecd.org/wise